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New York Times best selling author, Susan Squires, is here today to tell us about the characters in her Magic series and her latest release, Night Magic.

At the moment I’m in the middle of the six book Magic Series about the big and boisterous Tremaine family who are descended from Merlin of Camelot. The live in at the beach in a contemporary L.A. Merlin’s magic, dispersed through the ages, lurks in their DNA. Now, when each sibling meets another with the Merlin gene, the magic creates immediate attraction, true love, and a unique magic power emerges. Of course, they aren’t the only ones with magic. Members of the Clan are descended from Morgan Le Fay, and they have very different ideas about what to do with magic powers. Night Magic, the fifth title in the series is the latest, newly available at the usual digital sources, and at Amazon in print form.

I’ve grown to love the Tremaine family over the course of writing these books. Father, mother, six siblings and one adopted brother, various friends, new husbands and wives as the characters find their destined lovers—they’ve come to be a whole, unique world for me. The series takes place sequentially, and therefore all the family and some other key characters have been in every book, from the start of the series. I feel like I’ve watched the youngest ones grow up, and I’ve suffered with each character’s problems and trials right along with them, some of them continuing over multiple books. These people aren’t perfect. They struggle with their relationships just like real families. The parents don’t always do the right thing. The brothers don’t always agree. But there is an underlying love and loyalty there that my heroes and heroines can depend on. In some ways, the family is a character of its own.

This is the first series I’ve done where the whole story arc had to be planned out before I ever sat down at the computer. It’s also why I recommend, for the very first time, reading the books in order, beginning with Do You Believe in Magic?

I can already see a time when the series will be finished, even though I have two books left to write. I don’t know how I’ll let the family go. So I was rather relieved when a new character showed up in my mind about a month ago. He’s a very bad boy. And he wants his own book. So the series might be seven books long.

DESTINY ISN’T CALLING. Kemble Tremaine is thirty-seven. He knows he’ll never get magic like the rest of his family. The Merlin gene has passed him by. No true love, no magic power to help the family in their fight against the descendants of Morgan Le Fay. Since it doesn’t matter who he marries, he asks his sister’s best friend, Jane. At least he’ll be rescuing her from a horrible home life.

CINDERELLA MISSES THE BALL. Jane Butler has loved Kemble since she was twelve years old. She’s well aware he’s not marrying her for love, but she hopes she can make him comfortable.

HAPPINESS IS RELATIVE. Comfort isn’t on the menu for the Tremaines. Kemble’s sister has been having visions of tragedy. The family finds one of Merlin’s precious artifacts, meant to increase the power of those with magic. Morgan and her Clan want it too. They can’t be far behind. Can Kemble and Jane find destiny in the face of danger and even death?

Kemble strode around the car without a word, got behind the wheel and slammed the door. His lips were a thin, determined line. Then he seemed to see her for the first time. “Jane, that…that cheek looks really painful.” His face contorted with an angry look. “I should have been over here first thing this morning.” He was angry with himself, of course.

“I could have gone to the doctor if I needed to, you know,” she said.

He snorted. “You never want anything for yourself, Jane. I’ll take care of that too.”

What did he mean by that? The motor purred to life and Kemble put his arm over the back of her seat to turn and look out the rear window as he backed out. His fingers brushed her shoulder. She closed her eyes as the sensation shot up her spine. Did he have to be so careless?

As they turned onto Palos Verdes West she glanced over to him. He was fairly vibrating with…nervous tension? Determination? She couldn’t quite figure it out. He surprised her by sliding into the little shopping center behind the Admiral Risty, an old-school, red-booth dinner place with a wide-water view of the Pacific. “Aren’t you going to be late for dinner at home?”

“Yes, I am.” He nodded his head convulsively. The man was sweating.

“You want to loosen the tie or something?” He really looked like he was about to choke.

“No.” He took a big breath and let it out slowly. Then he turned to her. “I have something I want to ask you, Jane. And I don’t want you to say anything until I’m done explaining.”

“Uh. Okay.” Jane was getting a very bad feeling about this. It was going to be something about what he wanted to do with her mother. She just knew it. And she wouldn’t be able to accept his largesse, so he’d try to bully her into it.

He looked out over the parked cars. “I’m never going to get magic. I talked to Senior and he agrees. We think the gene is recessive in me. I’ve known it for a while.”

She started to protest, but he held up a hand. It was shaking a little. That stopped her far more effectively than anything he could have said. He wasn’t the kind of guy to tremble.

“So.” He acted as though that settled everything. “So he agrees that I ought to get on with my life. Settle down. And if I’m not waiting for the bolt of lightning, well, then I can marry whomever I want. So I’m asking you.”

Jane felt like she’d been struck deaf, dumb and blind by that lightning bolt. Kemble was… asking her to… marry him? After all these years, he’d realized he loved her…

“Now don’t say no,” he rushed on. “Just because we’re not in love doesn’t mean this can’t work out. You need a refuge Jane, and if we marry, I can give that to you.”

Jane carefully shut her mouth, though that didn’t mean she could breathe.

Kemble looked down at his hands, still on the steering wheel. “The family already loves you. And I’ll make sure your mother is taken care of. Enough money cures everything, Jane, and if it’s one thing I have, it’s money.” His eyes were so earnest it might break her heart.

He’d given up. So he might as well marry her. Something heavy sat on her chest.

He got an anxious look. “So…uh…what do you think?”

She hardly trusted herself to speak.

“Oh. Wait.” He lifted his hips to get his hand into the pocket of his slacks, and drew out a small square velveteen box. It said the name of the department store at the top of the hill on the bottom. He fumbled with it until he got it right side up and popped it open. A diamond ring gleamed in the rosy light of the setting sun. The setting was simple, just a band with three medium diamonds set in it. They glinted in the afternoon light.

“I didn’t think you’d want one of those big diamonds that are always catching on everything. These… these are nice stones though.” He cleared his throat.

It was actually just the kind of ring she would want the man she loved to give her. But not like this. She took a breath. “Kemble, you don’t want to marry me.” It took all the courage she had to speak those words.

“But I do,” he protested. “You’re perfect. You’re smart. You’re a calming influence on the family, especially the younger ones.” His voice softened. “And marrying me will give you a place, Jane. Let me take care of you.”

She couldn’t marry Kemble when he didn’t love her. That would be too selfish.

He put the box with the ring on the dashboard and took both her hands in his larger ones. After the shock that went straight to her groin and the points of her breasts, what she noticed was that the warmth, the slight moisture born of his anxiety, enveloped her with his inherent goodness. She felt…maybe not loved, but at least treasured. “I need you, Jane,” he said. “And I think you need me too. Sometimes life just provides solutions we aren’t expecting.”

The words were simple, spoken from his heart. He needed her. It was the one ploy that might get her to agree to this. She couldn’t bear how unhappy he’d been lately. Maybe this solution freed him from the razor-sharp pain of wondering if magic would ever happen for him, thinking he’d never be good enough. She wanted to believe that, because suddenly, she wanted to throw all sense and caution off the cliffs at the Breakers and accept him. Married to Kemble Tremaine, just as she’d dreamed since she was fourteen. A real member of the Tremaine family, with a right to make tira misu for their dinner or cut fresh flowers for the table.

There was another problem. “What if you find your destined love after we’re married?”

“Never going to happen.” He shrugged as though it didn’t matter to him. But in his blue eyes she saw that it did. He wasn’t over mourning his loss yet.

But maybe someday he could be. Maybe time would heal his regret. Maybe they could have something together, if not true love, then companionship, respect. That was more than she was like to have any other way. “You have to promise me something, Kemble Tremaine.”

“Anything.”

He didn’t mean that, of course. He couldn’t give her the one thing she really wanted. And God, he was so close to her, he was overwhelming any sense she had at all.

“Promise that if you ever do find the one really meant for you, you’ll tell me. I’ll set you free the next moment with no regrets.” Well, none she wouldn’t have anyway, whether she married him or not. She’d always regret he didn’t love her.

His brows drew together sharply. He really hadn’t thought this out, had he?

Finally he nodded. “Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Does that mean you will do me the honor of being my wife?”

God help her. She nodded.

Author Bio:

New York Times Bestselling author Susan Squires published twenty-two novels and novellas with Dorchester Publishing and St. Martin’s Press, as well as self-publishing her new Magic Series. She’s won the Golden Heart and the Holt Medallion, been a finalist in the Rita contest and garnered several Reviewer’s Choice awards from Romantic Times BookReviews. Publisher’s Weekly named Body Electric one of the most influential mass-market books and One with the Shadows a Best Book of Year.

She lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband, who is also a writer, and two Belgian Sheepdogs who help her by laying their chins on the keyboardddddddd.

A big thank you to Susan for donating an autographed copy of her book, Do You Believe in Magic, to my Halloween basket giveaway. As you can see below, the contest is over and I will be choosing a winner. Thanks to everyone who blogged with me this month and to everyone who entered the drawing.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween, and stick around for this weekend’s Howloween Blog Hop! More prizes including a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

BDB: Thanks for sitting down with me today. Tell us a little about yourself.

You humans always have so many questions, but my mate told me to be nice. There is not much to tell. I am Storm. You wouldn’t be able to pronounce my Vespian name. I am head of Vespian security, the ambassador to Earth and I am mated to Heather Drexel. She was part of your earth’s security.

BDB: I understand you have some kind of special power. Can you tell us about it?
How do you know about that? I will thrash the person who told you.
BDB: We have the clearance and will keep your secret. Tell us about it.

Sigh…We Vespians do not talk of such things with others, but I know my mate will be displeased with me if I refuse…I have the ability to shift. Although I can shift into any form I shift to wolf all the time. It is the easiest form for me.

BDB: When did you discover you were able to shift?

When my mate was kidnapped by Ialog, an ancient who created her. He held her at a compound on Earth and my wolf form allowed me to get close to Heather without being detected.

BDB: Did you have special education or training to hone your power?

No. Each Vespian who has the mix of blood that I have has different abilities. There is no one to prepare you for it or train you unless they happen to have the same power, which is unlikely. I have been lucky enough to meet someone with the same powers and she has helped me master it, but in the beginning I was alone.

BDB: Do you consider your power a gift or a curse? Why?

It is a gift. Not every Vespian has an ability like this, only those with at least thirty percent ancient blood in them and this ability allowed me to save my mate on more than one occasion. She has a tendency to get into trouble.

BDB: Does having this power complicate your life?

No. In the beginning it might have. Not being able to control the shift kept leaving me naked when I returned to humanoid form. I kept losing my clothes in the shift. But now I can control it and only use it when I need to.

BDB: If you could swap your power for another one, what would it be?

I quite like my power. I have a keener sense of smell, which allows me to pick up all the different levels of my mate’s arousal. That is quite beautiful and arousing for me.

BDB: What does your mate think of your abilities?

Heather has a few of her own so my abilities don’t bother her at all. In fact our intimacy is enhanced right after I shift which she enjoys very much. Of course so do I. Now, are we done? All this talk of my mate has me thinking of the way I like to spend my time with her.

Excerpt:

It didn’t take them long to get to Bert’s compound. Once the elders had a chance to question Bert they gave him permission to stay on some land in a remote area of Vespia so he could do his research on what happened to the rest of the ancients. They felt it was better not alerting the entire race that they had a living, breathing ancient among them. If the planet was aware of his presence they would never leave Bert alone.

Heather and Storm walked into his main computer room and found him working on assembling a large piece of equipment. He had parts floating in the air as he used a three dimensional image to move them around until they were ready to be put into place. There were small clamps on the pieces floating that allowed them to defy gravity.

“You have been busy.” Storm looked around at all the different components Bert now had up and running, not sure if he was happy with the elders’ decision. The only other ancient they had been involved with had a fixation on his mate and he feared the same thing would happen again over time, but Heather trusted the man so he kept his opinions to himself.

So far Bert had been the exact opposite of Ialog, but how long would that last? Would he develop that strange overpowering desire to have Heather that Ialog had? She was part of his visions. He had told them she was important to the future of their races. Would he try to take matters into his own hands like Ialog did? Storm knew he had to be leery or they could be caught unawares.

“A lot of the equipment I need for my search was already in my ship so it was easy to transfer it. Others I brought from my other compound, plus I have been working on a few more to make sure I have everything I need to begin my search.” He looked at Storm. “I know you have no reason to trust me. Ialog did ruin that, but I promise I have no ulterior motive. I just want to find my people. It is hard knowing I am alone.”

Did the man just read his mind?

Heather touched Storm’s arm. He could see that she understood. She had lived with being unique all her life. He placed his hand on top of hers. He trusted her. If she felt Bert was safe then he would too. For now.

The simple gesture had him wanting her again. She started smiling at him so he knew his eyes had started glowing once more. Good thing they had the ship with their favorite chair in it. He just might get a scream from her on their way back.

Storm walked around, looking at the different pieces of equipment. All types of machines covered the walls along with several large screens. “Fridon would love this place.”

“Then bring him next time.” Bert grinned as he worked on connecting a board to one of the screens. “I enjoy his sharp mind.”

Writing for Barbara Donlon Bradley started innocently enough, like most she kept diaries, journals, and wrote an occasional letter but she also had a vivid imagination and wrote scenes and short stories adding characters to her favorite shows and comic books. As time went on she found the passion for writing to be a strong drive for her. Humor is also very strong in her life. No matter how hard she tries to write something deep and dark, it will never happen. That humor bleeds into her writing. Since she can’t beat it she has learned to use it to her advantage. Now she lives in Tidewater Virginia with two cats, one mother in law – whose 87 now, her husband and son.

Barbara Donlon Bradley’s writing started innocently enough, she kept diaries, journals, and wrote an occasional letter but her vivid imagination had her writing scenes and short stories, adding characters to her favorite shows and comic books. As time went on the passion for writing became too strong to ignore. Humor dominates her life. Write something deep and dark, will never happen. That humor bleeds into her writing. Since she can’t beat it she’s learned to use it to her advantage. Now she lives in Tidewater Virginia with two cats, one mother in law – whose 87 now, her husband and son.

I hope you enjoyed the character interview and excerpt. Leave a comment for Barb if you’re so inclined. And there are only a couple more days to enter the giveaway. Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter the drawing for this month’s special giveaway, a Halloween basket with autographed books, candy, Halloween socks and assorted author swag.

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